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Old 21-11-2014, 09:59   #1
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Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

I have a new Garmin 740 chartplotter. Used it going north on ICW. Worked great. Now I am going south on ICW do I change top of plotter to head up, leave north up, or use course up. In the past I have always left at North up in the Caribbean but that was long distances. What do most people do.
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Old 21-11-2014, 10:47   #2
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

Head Up is the way you are headed right? That's the one I use. Anything else id a bit confusing.
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Old 21-11-2014, 11:02   #3
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

Everyone uses the mode they prefer and works best for them. You should also. Don't let anyone tell you there is a right or wrong way to set the orientation. No matter how they try to justify it.

Search the forum - this topic comes up often with some passionate responses.

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Old 21-11-2014, 11:09   #4
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

I always use N up. That's how I look at charts and that's how I orient myself normally. My partner always uses Head up. That's how she sees the world and charts just confuse her unless she rotates them. We all engage our senses of directions differently.

On the other hand I always know where I am and never get lost, and she nevers knows where she is. So I'm right.
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Old 21-11-2014, 11:24   #5
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

It's just a matter of personal preference. For me, I'll change it depending on what I'm doing and where I am. Sometimes I like North up, sometimes I like heading up.
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Old 21-11-2014, 15:14   #6
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

Myself I use course up. Its what I'm use too and helps a bit with a max ebb tide, by the SF gate, where the bow points NE but the boat is moving SW, or sailing in reverse.
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Old 21-11-2014, 15:34   #7
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

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Originally Posted by colemj View Post
Everyone uses the mode they prefer and works best for them. You should also. Don't let anyone tell you there is a right or wrong way to set the orientation. No matter how they try to justify it.

Search the forum - this topic comes up often with some passionate responses.

Mark
Rarely disagree with you Mark but..........

"Recommended" display orientation is taught in marine colleges and supported in IMO papers.

Basically North up in open waters and head or course up in confined winding channels

Personally I would find it very confusing to be called up from my off watch.... for a close quarters piloting emergency .... and the first thing I needed to get my head around was what display orientation the watchkeeper felt like using that night:what:
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Old 21-11-2014, 15:36   #8
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

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Rarely disagree with you Mark but..........

"Recommended" display orientation is taught in marine colleges and supported in IMO papers.

Basically North up in open waters and head or course up in confined channels
You just proved my point!

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Old 21-11-2014, 15:47   #9
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

Edited my post....
For me it is all about being consistent between watches
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Old 21-11-2014, 16:04   #10
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

Yeah, I will agree with that. It is just Michele and me on watches, and we prefer the same orientation, but even so, our procedure for a watch change is that the person going off watch spends a couple of minutes orientating the person coming on watch.

As for wrapping one's head around a display and situation quickly, I personally don't have a problem with that - the ship's icon and heading line is pointing in a certain direction, the chart reflects the relative position and direction of travel of the ship regardless of the orientation, and - here is the tricky part - there is a big giant NU, HU, or CU label in the corner of the display…

Besides, if it is a collision avoidance emergency (ship, land or other obstacle), the actual orientation of the chart doesn't matter because one is eyeballing the situation (I assume it did not become an emergency because nobody was actually monitoring things for several hours).

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Old 21-11-2014, 16:29   #11
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

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Y............. the actual orientation of the chart doesn't matter because one is eyeballing the situation ............
It's simpler if the chart orientation matches your eyeballing.

Some folks like to do things the hard way, that's why they have options.
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Old 21-11-2014, 16:32   #12
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

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It's simpler if the chart orientation matches your eyeballing.

Some folks like to do things the hard way, that's why they have options.
That is the way I also prefer it, but my point was that one would not be looking at the chart plotter at all in those situations.

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Old 21-11-2014, 16:35   #13
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

I like to use the split screen feature on my plotter with one screen zoomed in close with heading up and radar overlay, and the other zoomed slightly further out, north up, to give an idea of the general direction I'm heading. Works great for me.
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Old 21-11-2014, 17:08   #14
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

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Rarely disagree with you Mark but..........

"Recommended" display orientation is taught in marine colleges and supported in IMO papers.

Basically North up in open waters and head or course up in confined winding channels
...
This is what we do.
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Old 21-11-2014, 17:35   #15
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Re: Choosing Map Orientation on Chartplotter

There are scenarios where "eyeballing" will not suffice and I have actually been called up to the bridge during typhoon level heavy rainbands which have reduced visibility to almost zero

Picture a confused Sulu Sea with a narrow safe navigation lane and you are called up on the bridge when a freighter on reciprocal course starts behaving erratically @ 1nm range on the S band radar.

Do you really have time to verify orientation/ true or relative vectors/ ground stabilization mode as well as sea room available for evasive action?

I have experienced those scenarios a few times in my professional career (usually when a new watchkeeper waits too long to seek my help at 3 am and is in a panic because his lookout is saying he really should call the Captain)

That is why I standardise the display options to suit MY quick appreciation of a close quarter panic scenario
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